Centre's delimitation of population-based LS constituencies discriminatory against Punjab: Badal

CHandigarh, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on wed that the Centre's proposed displace on population-based delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, below the garb of women's reserve, is " extremely discriminatory" against Punjab.Badal asserted that his party is strongly in favour of women's reservation but firmly opposes using it as a "camouflage for delimitation.""Punjab, a state with a predominantly minority character, will be the biggest victim of this delimitation exercise," the former deputy chief minister said in a post on X.While Punjab will see only a nominal increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats, Haryana will witness nearly a 100 per cent increase, almost doubling its representation in the Lower House of Parliament, he said."By making population the sole basis of delimitation, this move punishes Punjab for successfully implementing the national agenda on population control and rewards states that have defied those goals," Badal noted.He alleged that the proposed delimitation exercise appears to be a conspiracy to hand over disproportionate control of India to just four Hindi-heartland states Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan by almost doubling their combined strength in the Lok Sabha and pushing it beyond 40 per cent of the total seats."This will deal a death blow to the already weakened federal structure of the country. In the interest of true federal unity and integrity, the SAD will spearhead an all-party initiative in Punjab to strongly oppose this assault on our state and on India's federal structure," Badal said.The SAD chief said his party has full support for the Women's Reservation Bill.The number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's-reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise to be carried out based on the last-published census data.According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, which will be introduced during the special sitting of Parliament from April 16 to April 18, the number of seats would also go up in the state assemblies to accommodate the 33-per cent quota for women.The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened from April 16 to April 18, during which amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the Women's Reservation Act, will be brought for its implementation in 2029.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.